1. Your time
How much of the year will you spend in Florida, now and in five years? The answer shapes almost everything else: tax residency, the right visa or entry status, health coverage, and even the kind of home that makes sense. Your accountant and, where needed, an immigration attorney confirm what your plan means for you. Our guide on how many days you can spend in Florida explains the count.
2. The structure
Will you hold the property personally, through a trust or through a company? The choice affects estate tax, privacy and future costs, and it is far easier to make before you sign a contract than after. This is a question for a cross-border attorney and accountant, and it's one to ask early.
3. The money
Where the funds will come from, how they'll be converted, and how they'll be documented. Converting at a bank's screen rate on a large transfer can cost more than the price negotiation saved. Planning a few weeks ahead keeps that money, and gathering proof of funds early keeps the closing on time. See moving the money.
4. Protection
Property insurance, flood cover and health coverage. On the coast, insurance can decide whether a lender will finance a building, and what a home really costs each year. It's worth a quote before you fall in love with a view. See before you buy the apartment, buy the building.
5. The property
Now the search is focused: the right coast, the right town, the right kind of building, at a budget that includes every annual cost. When you're ready, we introduce you to a licensed Florida real estate brokerage, which you engage directly. See what a Florida place really costs.
6. Settling in
Who looks after the home while you're away, who to call when a storm is forecast, and how the first season will go. It's the last step, and the one families remember.
How we help
We set out these steps in your order, introduce the specialists for each, and keep them working from one plan. Tell us where you are in the process, and we'll tell you what to settle next.
General information, not legal, tax, investment or immigration advice.